English for Diplomacy

Are the Brexit negotiations based on making decisions on questions one at a time or is nothing decided until everything is decided?
Is the March 2019 deadline realistic?
What exactly does Britain really expect to gain from Brexit? Can a country the size

of Britain really be independent? For example, doesn't Britain's security ultimately rest on NATO?
What kind of cooperation should continue between the EU and Britain after Brexit?
How can Britain hope to remain part of the EU single market for trade but not for the circulation of labour given that this is not a negotiating point but part of the EU's basic structure?
How can the Irish border question be resolved?
What can Britain do to reassure the financial markets and to deal with the weakening of Sterling in exchange rates? Will there be a growing flight of capital?

Is there any possibility of a second referendum given that the first was a close decision and so uneven across Britain?
Do you think that the 'Leave' campaign was based on false information? Is so, would demonstrating that invalidate the referendum result and would those responsible be legally liable for misleading the public?
The EU institutions have often been vilified in the British tabloid press. How can diplomats expect to conduct fair and rational negotiations on Brexit against this background? And how can Britain avoid giving the impression to Europeans of Perfidious Albion?

martedì 12 settembre 2017

Some notes about learning to write in English for the Concorso

For the Concorso you need to learn to write in English. How do you learn to write? Well, as regards handwriting, speed and perhaps essay organization, you can do this partly by the act of repeated writing. As regards the main task, absorbing words, expressions and structures and then producing them, you do this by reading and taking notes on the elements you want to remember. It’s what you did in your L1, but unconsciously. You should focus on CUDU (could use, don’t use), language that you have often seen in English, that you know is common but that you wouldn’t normally manage to produce. This kind of imitation is how you gradually improved in your L1 (and also how you would improve your English while working at the Ministry). This is your basic task for the next 8-12 months. If you write, use a bilingual dictionary to find words you don’t know and a monolingual dictionary to check how to use the expression. However, if you simply write a lot and frequently without reading and taking notes and without using a dictionary your English will NOT improve. You will simply reinforce your grammatical and lexical errors.

I will mark whatever you give me as long as it is your own work(!), researched, checked with a dictionary for basic errors, typed or written clearly and on alternate lines so that I have space to correct it. No margin is necessary. Please give it to me with your name, surname and class. Don’t send it on my email. Please don’t use translation programs. They don’t yet produce standard English, and you can’t use one in the Concorso!

At the Concorso I think they are looking for good standard, clear English, good content and quality, not quantity. 10 pages of incomprehensible English will not gain you anything. Your first page and a half should be error free (!), in terms of both language and content.

Use a dictionary that has example sentences to show you both the right word to choose and how to use the word.

The address of my blog is:

www.youngdip.blogspot.it

Read the following entries for September this weekend:

Some useful sources and resources / Some language for essay writing /How to write an essay on international relations / Some questions to think about

The best model for the kind of English you need to produce you can find on the UN site, particularly at http://www.un.org/apps/news/archive.asp , on the EU site, and texts in English on the site of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.esteri.it/mae/en , and Italy’s Permanent Mission to the United Nation in New York, http://www.italyun.esteri.it/rappresentanza_onu .You will find that the English used on these sites is slightly Latinized and without many of the journalistic expressions that make US and UK newspapers and magazines quite difficult to read. It is also based on a more limited vocabulary of common expressions. This is a good thing, not a bad thing and will make your task easier!! Remember, the object of language generally, but particularly with a mixed audience of L1 and L2 listeners and readers, is clarity and successful communication. Well, that is what the UN believes and so should you!

When you choose a topic to write about, you need to do extensive research and arrive at a balanced view of the subject, taking into account any position taken by the Italian government and/or the EU.

Some language for essay writing

Useful expressions for writing an essay:

http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-vocabulary/making-your-writing-more-academic-by-being-impersonal/

http://fullspate.digitalcounterrevolution.co.uk/advanced-efl-essay-writing/advanced-essay-phrases.html

http://www.smart-words.org/linking-words/transition-words.html

http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/writing-useful-espressions-essay.php#.U_sBbqNvBOY

terminology:

http://himalayancrossings.com/pdf/course/resource/penguin_dictionary.pdf (good but takes a moment to download)

http://www.cram.com/flashcards/international-relations-glossary-terms-550037

http://www.peace.ca/glossaryoftermsforir.htm

http://www.irtheory.com/know.htm

http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/teachingresources/intl-glossary.htm

and maybe:

http://www.businessballs.com/latin-terms-phrases.htm

structuring your essay:

http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/studyresources/essays/sta-planningessay.aspx

(then go to Essay Writing)

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/medicine/psychology/essay-structure/3.xml

http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/essay/4bi.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-English-Essay

Essays on Diplomacy:

http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/Diplomacy-Intro

http://www.ukessays.co.uk/essays/economics/economic-diplomacy.php

http://www.preservearticles.com/201105307227/diplomats-and-diplomacy.html

Some ideas about writing your essay for the concorso regarding content, organization and argument

1) There should be a clear content that demonstrates you knowledge of current affairs (and where possible the position of Italy and the EU and the diplomatic corps and its work)

2) The content should not be purely theoretical

3) The content should not be purely historical

4) The content should not be one point repeated again and again but a series of points in an argument

5) The essay should answer the question posed in the title and interpret it where necessary

6) The content of the essay should be organized in a step by step structure the carries the reader from an initial response to, and interpretation of, the question to a logical and balanced conclusion. Your paragraphing should respect the structure you choose, e.g. for and against / cause and consequence / hypothesis, application, objections / contrasting definitions /fact, interpretation /

evidence-based logical steps / an extended analogy narrative and comment

7) Argue a position. Your line of argument should flow from your introduction and should be easy to follow. Your essay should not be a series of disconnected points.

8) Wherever it is possible give practical examples drawn from current international relations

9) Your essay should be informed, up to date and balanced (diplomatic).

10) Your handwriting should be good enough to be fully legible

11) Language – the formal, standard English for international relations found on the EU site, the UN site the Italian Foreign Ministry site and the site of Italy’s Permanent Mission to the UN, plus any high- frequency expression that you have found in a reputable sources.

https://www.studenti.it/come-si-fa-un-tema.html

Some useful vocabulary for international relations

https://irp2014.wordpress.com/vocabulary-lists/

http://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/references/169792.htm

https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/183677#view=notes

http://www.cram.com/flashcards/essentials-of-international-relations-vocab-1895879

Some diplomatic language for maintaining a neutral style

Some diplomatic language for maintaining a neutral style

The notes on various topics that you will find on this website are based on my reading and summarizing of points made by a series of authors and sources. They are not my personal opinion unless a personal opinion is an attempt to summarize the points made by various sources. They are simply intended as background to help you form your own ideas as you do your own reading and research. However, they are only in note form and you need to qualify these kinds of comments and statements with the following kind of introductory phraseology in order to maintain a neutral tone and diplomatic style:
Some experts argue that….. / many experts suggest that …. /it is often argued that…. /it has been suggested that…../some political commentators argue that…. / many political commentators claim that…. / it is sometimes claimed that.… /some academics make the case that …… /it is often pointed out that..../ most experts agree that….. / most commentators seem to agree that… /there seems to be general agreement that…. / there seems little doubt that… / it is unclear whether… /generally speaking it seems that…. / one could argue that…./ on the whole…../ apparently…. /other experts have raised questions regarding…/ in social terms…/ in economic terms…/ in political terms… / theoretically… /in theory… / in practice…. / it has been alleged that…../
You might want to use this kind of language when introducing a new opinion or interpretation of events, but you should not exaggerate. Don't put these expressions in front of every sentence, and don't use them inappropriately, that is to say, in front of factual information. As you read you should collect other common expressions like those above.
You can also use structures based on inversion like this:
What is needed is a new strategy…
What is needed is for the government to work out a new strategy…What the government needs to do is…

e sopratutto, in quello che scrivi al concorso, cerca di essere:

informato, aggiornato e equilibrato.

lunedì 11 settembre 2017

Some Questions about the EU and the Migrant and Refugee Crisis

Define what kind of immigration we are talking about here. What kind of people are arriving? From where and why?

What is the scale of the problem? Compare figures for this year with 2016, 2015, 2014 and earlier 2013 and 2012.

Compare with figures for legal immigration from non- EU countries.

Compare with refugee figures for arrivals in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

Comment on the levels of internal EU migration and the resulting frictions.

What problems has this phenomenon caused for the EU?

in responding to the humanitarian crisis

in terms of infrastructure, personnel, funds etc…

operations on Italy’s coast, on open waters and on the coast of Libya.

tensions between EU member states

public opinion, sympathy, the rise of anti-immigrant, anti-EU parties

current Italian operations and EU plans to deal with the crisis

the EU’s image

Comment on possible problems for the future, e.g. the scale of the problem / the integration of new migrants into existing populations / EU foreign policy concerning countries of origin / our moral and legal obligations faced with this crisis / any other practical ideas or comments?